While for some reason, this has fallen into the public domain, this 20th Century Fox Western is actually one step above the typical D grade Western with its use of action, romance, music and humor to move the story along. Ricardo Cortez, who may not have risen to the upper echelon of legendary Hollywood stars of the 1930s, is excellent in this variation of a familiar story. Cortes was able to cross over to pretty much every genre that Hollywood specialized during the 1930s, and here, utilizes his talent as a romantic hero along with the ability to be genuinely funny.
The film opens with his character as a child leaving his family to go off to get an education and when he returns as an adult, he immediately confronts the corrupt government who is trying to squeeze every last nickel out of everybody. This puts his child sweetheart, Marjorie Weaver, at risk, and Cortez will do anything to save her.
Fast pacing and excellent photography helps this film moves along at a brisk pace, and while the film is over in less than an hour, you feel that you've gotten your time's worth. unlike the low-budget westerns of the poverty row Studios, the cameraman plays particular attention to detail of individual characters and there are more close-ups as a result. Even in scenes when there is no dialogue and only the sound of horses clomping, it doesn't feel like you are living in a vacuum. Even the location shots seem to be more well-selected, and the costume design is top notch.
The film opens with his character as a child leaving his family to go off to get an education and when he returns as an adult, he immediately confronts the corrupt government who is trying to squeeze every last nickel out of everybody. This puts his child sweetheart, Marjorie Weaver, at risk, and Cortez will do anything to save her.
Fast pacing and excellent photography helps this film moves along at a brisk pace, and while the film is over in less than an hour, you feel that you've gotten your time's worth. unlike the low-budget westerns of the poverty row Studios, the cameraman plays particular attention to detail of individual characters and there are more close-ups as a result. Even in scenes when there is no dialogue and only the sound of horses clomping, it doesn't feel like you are living in a vacuum. Even the location shots seem to be more well-selected, and the costume design is top notch.